Hoosiers escape in season opening win

As William & Mary quarterback Dave Corley scrambled to his left with time expiring in Saturday's game against IU, his shoe came flying off in the opposite direction, hitting the ground with an inconsequential thud.\nHis pass to wide receiver Danny Wade was equally harmless.\nIU junior cornerback Antonio Watson swatted the ball to the ground, preserving IU's 25-17 victory in the Hoosiers' debut.\nWatson proved to be doubly heroic at the game's end, breaking up a pass intended for halfback Corey Paxton on the previous play to foil William & Mary's attempt for its first-ever win against a Big Ten opponent.\n"I play every down as if they are going to throw it to my man," Watson said. "I just kept my poise."\nWatson was able to keep his poise after being flagged with a controversial pass interference call with 1:33 left to play that gave the Tribe a first down at the IU 15-yard line.\n"I thought that it was an offensive penalty at first," DiNardo said.\nThe Hoosiers ended the game by not allowing any points after William & Mary drove inside the IU 10-yard line twice in the last four minutes. William & Mary's first scoring opportunity also ended with Watson knocking down a pass on a fourth down play.\nMany of the 33,427 fans in attendance did not stick around to see the Hoosiers defensive stoutness, which set a school record by allowing negative-32 rushing yards, and represented a marked improvement from IU's play as a whole in the first half.\nOn their first possession of the game, the Tribe cut through the IU defense like a machete through a watermelon. After a Ryan Hamre punt pinned William & Mary at their own five-yard line, Corley torched the IU secondary. Corley orchestrated a six play touchdown drive lasting 2:16. Corley connected with junior Rich Musinski for a 24-yard touchdown pass. \nDiNardo was not impressed with his defense's performance in that sequence.\n"It is one of the growing pains that we have to endure," DiNardo said. "Just because we are a Big Ten team, we can't think that William & Mary can't beat us."\nIU responded by going on a 12-play, 79-yard drive which culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Tommy Jones to junior wide receiver Glenn Johnson.\nJones had the Hoosiers moving once again as the first quarter came to a close. But, on the first play of the second quarter, he was picked off by junior safety Marques Bobo at the William & Mary 1-yard line. \nWilliam & Mary capitalized on the turnover and Bobo's 19-yard return, methodically marching 80 yards downfield in 12 plays on a possession that lasted over five minutes. \nCorley passed to sophomore running back Jonathan Smith for the 12-yard touchdown pass to give William & Mary a 14-7 lead.\nIU's next score came after a bizarre sequence of plays in the middle of the quarter. After a bad snap out of the shotgun formation sent the Tribe back to their own ten-yard line and into a punt formation for 4th-and-38, IU responded by picking up a roughing the punter penalty. The 15-yard personal foul gave William & Mary an automatic first down.\nThree plays later, it was déjà vu as another bad snap sent William & Mary back to their own one-yard line and into a punt formation.\nThis time, there was no penalty and IU took over the ball at the William & Mary 25. However, the IU offense stalled, and the Hoosiers settled for a 31-yard field goal by sophomore Bryan Robertson to cut the deficit to 14-10, which stood as the halftime score. \nIU's next score was set up by senior defensive lineman Kris Dielman's fumble recovery at the William & Mary 13-yard line. Corley was sacked by freshman linebacker Kyle Killion to force the fumble.\nDielman impressed his coaches in his first game on defense since converting from tight end, where he spent his freshman and junior years.\n"Dielman was a force to be reckoned with," said IU defensive coordinator Tim Kish. "He really did a great job."\nThree plays after Dielman's recovery, Jones hit freshman fullback John Pannozzo for an eight-yard touchdown pass, giving the Hoosiers their first lead of the game at 17-14. It was Pannozzo's first collegiate touchdown.\n"It was unbelievable, but coach always says if you make a good play, just take it and move on," Pannozzo said.\nWilliam & Mary would again get pushed backwards by the IU defense on their next possession, with Dielman sacking Corley for a ten-yard loss on first down. After going three and out, the Tribe lined up to punt and was once again upended by a bad snap. Center Steve Stocki's snap went over punter Michael Mesi's head and out of the end zone for a safety, giving IU a 19-14 lead. \n"Going into the first game against a Division I-A opponent, we knew we weren't going to be able to make mistakes like that," said William & Mary coach Jimmye Laycock.\nIU's next touchdown would be courtesy of yet another special team's miscue by the Tribe. Bobo fielded the punt but fumbled it at the William & Mary 16. The ball was recovered by redshirt junior Duane Stone. \nJones hit Pannozzo for their second touchdown connection of the game from ten yards out with 11:01 left to play. IU failed on a two-point conversion attempt, but their 25-14 lead provided the only cushion that they would need.\nWilliam & Mary's only other points came on a 32-yard Greg Kuehn field goal with 8:49 remaining in the game.